A rendering of Masdar City, which is continuing its eco-friendly aims with the clever use of spatial planning and indigenous plants. Courtesy Masdar
A rendering of Masdar City, which is continuing its eco-friendly aims with the clever use of spatial planning and indigenous plants. Courtesy Masdar

Sowing the seeds of gardening-based change at Masdar City



The design for Masdar City in Abu Dhabi by ­Foster + Partners has gone through a series of evolutions since construction of the project began in 2006. Not least of these was the decision to introduce cars to the project's plan, to facilitate better connectivity and enhance the city's economic viability. It's this theme of connectedness, both to the environment and to people, that has played a key part in shaping both the public spaces and the landscape architecture of the city.

Anthony Mallows, the director of Masdar City, explains how their approach has been fundamentally different to standard city planning. “Traditional city building would start off by saying that ‘buildings look like this and they are like that’, but by working in this way, the public realm and its landscape architecture has this environmental intention. Therefore the buildings have to support the public realm, and so the planning process is inverted,” he says.

Plans for the landscaping have been about responding to Estidama, the sustainability initiative developed by the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council, which was conceived to “imbue a new mindset that promotes the concept of living in harmony with our culture and environment”, and working towards its Four Pearl Community Rating. A key facet of this is achieving higher levels of sustainable design and practice, by adhering to these principles right from the very beginning of the design and build process.

Masdar masterplanning also references the green building certification system Leed, although there are elements of the current international system that don’t take into account the special conditions and concerns that are associated with the high temperatures endemic to the Middle East.

There’s a “budget” for water at Masdar City, which means that to work within its stipulated allocation, innovative decisions and strategies have to be deployed when it comes to how water is used. It’s not about sucking more water out of the ground, but about how it can be effectively deployed to maximise its impact. Sourcing and recycling water from district cooling systems is one such approach, as is finding ways to cool and irrigate the city using natural means. Much of the landscape architecture and planting is centred around this fundamental objective.

There are linear parks (corridors of open space running across the city grid), which are a way of incorporating prevailing winds into the fabric of the city, creating a micro climate response to reduce humidity. “Outdoor thermal comfort may be a simple term, but it’s complex in terms of what it means,” says Mallows. “How comfortable do people feel, based on the environmental conditions they are in? In the Middle East, this becomes especially important in summer. There are lots of passive responses that can be made to cooling, such as putting buildings closer together so that you have more shade, or orientating buildings so that prevailing winds will come through and provide cooling effects.

“Also, adding very strategic water elements to stimulate visual and auditory responses can create a sense of ‘coolness’, as can providing natural green elements with low reflectivity, so that the ambient heat exchange is minimised. All of these play an important part in the outdoor thermal comfort.”

A holistic approach to building design is focused on keeping the city as cool as possible. “That kind of thinking is, I think, what the mission of Masdar was all about, and where there is true integration between the public realm and the architecture, then the architecture just gets better with it.”

The sub-developers at the city are also obligated to incorporate this thinking into their own designs. Their additions must connect to the public spaces by incorporating open, shaded areas, which serve to expand and integrate the sense of cool space at street level. Obviously, when a building is finished, it doesn’t move, yet a boulevard or a park continues to grow and evolve with time, which forms part of the plan for the longer term.

“Walking along the street, or riding your bike, you gain a sense of sequence between the buildings and the landscape. You start to make landscape and buildings have a dialogue, which creates a far more interesting environment,” Mallows explains.

Peter Spellmeyer, the landscape manager at Masdar City, adds: “There are both benefits and constraints to creating a balance in the landscape between natural green shade and architectural shade. Our goal is to shift the balance towards native and drought-tolerant plants, to provide shade in places such as plazas and walkways, which is a very apparent category of Estidama.”

Has it been a challenge to deploy indigenous or native plants in their designs, given that the aesthetic of some of these plants isn’t necessarily what people are used to seeing in urban landscaping? Spellmeyer strongly believes that native plants can be as, or even more, beautiful as the foreign species often used in landscaped communities. It’s just a different aesthetic, representing a shift to environmental and sustainability concerns. It is about creating an aesthetic that is just as pleasant and attractive to the eye as other planting schemes across the city, but is simultaneously sensitive to the environment.

“When you look at native plant material, its aesthetic, textures and colours are just as varied; they are just as pretty,” Spellmeyer says. “There is also a lot of native material here that people haven’t really seen, because it is in an environment that people may not often get to, or it hasn’t been highlighted as plant material in an environment where they can look, touch and feel it, and really get a sense of it.”

In the same way, the Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx went out into local landscapes and collected and propagated the plant species he found there. He brought those plants back to Brazil’s cities and was hailed for the beautiful materials he was using, which people just hadn’t really been aware of until that point.

“Every plant in our nursery is 100 per cent native to this site. So they have had the opportunity to acclimatise and grow here, and they will survive here,” Spellmeyer explains. Arguably, the whole site is a nursery, because there are greenbelt roadways and other areas currently being used as incubators for landscaping elements, allowing them to mature before they are eventually deployed elsewhere in the city as building phases are completed.

“We don’t want to engage the public realm with tiny plant specimens; we need to plan for them to be of a size that will create the look and feel that we are trying to achieve,” Spellmeyer says. This is an especially important consideration for native plants – in the past, there hasn’t been much call for their use in urban planting schemes, which meant that few were grown.

Masdar is also engaging with local nurseries to ensure that there will be sufficient supply moving forward. As the call for their use deepens, it’s hoped that there will be more interest in these species and a greater desire to use them in local landscape ­architecture.

Mallows concludes: “I am hoping that just as we’ve done with the buildings here, that there will also be some awareness as to what is an appropriate landscape regime in this environment, through the experience of engaging with nature for really beautifully designed public spaces. Not only because there is some obvious social imperative, but because also, ultimately, it will prove to be more cost-­effective.”

homes@thenational.ae

Follow us @LifeNationalUAE

Follow us on Facebook for discussions, entertainment, reviews, wellness and news.

SPECS

Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now

Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The bio

Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.

Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.

Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.

Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

The specs

Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6

Power: 400hp

Torque: 475Nm

Transmission: 9-speed automatic

Price: From Dh215,900

On sale: Now

The specs

A4 35 TFSI

Engine: 2.0-litre, four-cylinder

Transmission: seven-speed S-tronic automatic

Power: 150bhp

Torque: 270Nm

Price: Dh150,000 (estimate)

On sale: First Q 2020

A4 S4 TDI

Engine: 3.0-litre V6 turbo diesel

Transmission: eight-speed PDK automatic

Power: 350bhp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: Dh165,000 (estimate)

On sale: First Q 2020

Scores in brief:

Day 1

New Zealand (1st innings) 153 all out (66.3 overs) - Williamson 63, Nicholls 28, Yasir 3-54, Haris 2-11, Abbas 2-13, Hasan 2-38

Pakistan (1st innings) 59-2 (23 overs)

Biog:

Age: 34

Favourite superhero: Batman

Favourite sport: anything extreme

Favourite person: Muhammad Ali 

if you go

The flights

Flydubai flies to Podgorica or nearby Tivat via Sarajevo from Dh2,155 return including taxes. Turkish Airlines flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Podgorica via Istanbul; alternatively, fly with Flydubai from Dubai to Belgrade and take a short flight with Montenegro Air to Podgorica. Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Podgorica via Belgrade. Flights cost from about Dh3,000 return including taxes. There are buses from Podgorica to Plav. 

The tour

While you can apply for a permit for the route yourself, it’s best to travel with an agency that will arrange it for you. These include Zbulo in Albania (www.zbulo.org) or Zalaz in Montenegro (www.zalaz.me).

 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global institutions: BlackRock and KKR

US-based BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager, with $5.98 trillion of assets under management as of the end of last year. The New York firm run by Larry Fink provides investment management services to institutional clients and retail investors including governments, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, banks and charitable foundations around the world, through a variety of investment vehicles.

KKR & Co, or Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is a global private equity and investment firm with around $195 billion of assets as of the end of last year. The New York-based firm, founded by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, invests in multiple alternative asset classes through direct or fund-to-fund investments with a particular focus on infrastructure, technology, healthcare, real estate and energy.

 

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now

The Year Earth Changed

Directed by:Tom Beard

Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough

Stars: 4

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed 

Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE squad

Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind

Fixtures

Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Singham Again

Director: Rohit Shetty

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3/5

The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204.0-litre%20twin-turbo%20V8%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E680hp%20at%206%2C000rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E800Nm%20at%202%2C750-6%2C000rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERear-mounted%20eight-speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E13.6L%2F100km%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Orderbook%20open%3B%20deliveries%20start%20end%20of%20year%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh970%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode

Directors: Raj & DK

Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon

Rating: 4/5

COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Eco%20Way%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20December%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ivan%20Kroshnyi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Electric%20vehicles%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Bootstrapped%20with%20undisclosed%20funding.%20Looking%20to%20raise%20funds%20from%20outside%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Alnamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMicrofinance%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFamily%20offices%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre turbo 4-cyl

Transmission: eight-speed auto

Power: 190bhp

Torque: 300Nm

Price: Dh169,900

On sale: now